Carl Froch is seeking revenge on the only two men to have beaten him – Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler – after his emphatic destruction of the International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion, Lucian Bute, on Saturday at Nottingham Arena. Only five months after losing to Ward in Atlantic City, Froch claimed his third world title when he stopped the favourite in round five.

"I just knew I was going to smash him," Froch said. "When I fight like that I can beat anyone in my weight class and that includes Ward. I wasn't right in December but I don't want to make excuses. No one can live with the Carl Froch that you've seen out there and that includes Kessler. It's taken a long time to get everything right and my whole career came together tonight."

Froch did not know if he was good enough to succeed in professional boxing when he ditched the vest and head guard of the amateur code. Eleven years on, in front of his hometown fans, he soared to a new level. "I'm so happy with that performance. It was so clinical, so devastating, and I feel so strong," he said.

One man who should not take a bow, however, is the American referee Earl Brown, who contributed to the gruesome finish. The Canada-based Romanian, senses mashed and eyes rolling, was hammered, his head bouncing around like a lottery ball, and the referee looked on. Only upright because of the ropes, he was finally rescued by his corner after Brown had issued a standing eight-count.

"If I'd have lost I'd have retired," Froch said later. "I knew it was do or die. I knew I couldn't drop back down to fighting for British or Commonweath titles if I had lost. But after that performance, I'm so excited about the future."

Froch enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, his right hand making the most of Bute's low left. He stalked, his snarl accompanying each hurtful swing, eyes tracking the champion's every mistake.

That right had Bute in serious trouble in the third and fourth rounds, power coursing through each blow, and before the fifth the champion's corner considered surrender. He had been expected to win but ultimately he joined the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Eusebio Pedroza and Kostya Tszyu as champions defeated by British underdogs.

Bute was still groggy at the start of the fifth round and this time Froch would not be denied in front of the 9,000 sell-out crowd. "We worked on that right hand in training, straight down the pipe, it was frightening actually," Froch said later.

His trainer, Robert McCracken, has been alongside the 34-year-old for every engrossing twist, and Froch credits much of his success to him.

"He hasn't received the credit he deserves," McCracken said later. "Maybe people will wake up and see how special he is. He's one of our own and hopefully he'll now become the legend that he is."